President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks a during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Tuesday at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington. African heads of state are gathering in Washington for an unprecedented summit to promote business development.WASHINGTON – They export BMWs and birdseed and plenty in between. Their middle class is growing fast enough to draw the likes of Marriott and Wal-Mart. China, Europe, Japan and the United States are vying to build roads and power plants there.
No longer are the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, long a symbol of war, famine and corruption, an economic basket case. Six of the world’s fastest-growing economies are there. Higher oil prices, richer consumers and sounder governments have raised so much interest in Africa’s economic promise that it’s being showcased this week at the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.
The question is: Can all this endure?
Africa has stood on the verge of prosperity before only to see its opportunities fizzle. Yet never before has it stood to benefit as it does now.
“Africa presents enormous opportunities,” says Paul Sullivan, director of international business development at Acrow Bridge of Parsippany, New Jersey, which has put up hundreds of prefabricated steel bridges across Africa.